Guilty As Sin ► Y.JH

Epilogue

The sun was beginning to rise over the horizon, casting long, golden rays across the sky, and the air was crisp, the kind that hinted at both beginnings and endings. Soleil sat by the window, her arms wrapped around her knees, her gaze fixed on the first light of day that bathed the city in soft hues of pink and gold. For weeks now, the dawn had been her quiet companion, a time of reflection, of silence after the chaos.

A time to think about how far she had come, but also how much she still had to reckon with.

It had been months since everything had fallen apart-the night of the brutal confrontation, when Minho had found out about her and Jeonghan, when the weight of their shared guilt had torn their small circle of family and friends apart. Since then, Soleil had been on a journey of rebuilding, not just with her brother, but with herself. She had tried to make amends, to heal old wounds, to accept that she couldn't erase the past.

But even now, as she sat in the quiet of her apartment, she felt like there was a heavy fog still clinging to the edges of her life. Things were better, yes, but they were still fragile. The world had shifted for all of them-Soleil, Jeonghan, and Minho-but the scars they carried were deeper than they let on.

Soleil's phone buzzed on the table, pulling her from her thoughts. It was a text from Jeonghan, as it usually was these days, though they weren't talking every day, not like they used to. It was a slow process, building trust again, figuring out what they could be to each other after everything that had happened.

"Meet me at the usual place?"

She smiled faintly at the message, a small twinge of warmth spreading through her chest. The "usual place" was the café where everything had started-where Jeonghan had first walked into her life, and where they had first crossed the line. It was strange, how a place could hold so much weight, so many memories-both happy and heartbreaking. She had spent so many hours there, thinking about what they had, and what they had lost.

With a sigh, she grabbed her coat, pulling it over her shoulders, and grabbed her keys from the table. A part of her hesitated, though, as she stepped out into the cold morning. She wasn't sure what kind of meeting this would be. Things had been better lately-more stable. They had finally started seeing each other again after months of silence, but the shadow of their past mistakes still loomed over them.

What if she still wasn't enough for him? What if the scars from their love were too deep to ever truly heal?

But then again, what if love-love that had tested everything-was the very thing that could redeem them both?

---

Jeonghan was already seated by the window when Soleil walked into the café. The sight of him still caused a flutter in her chest-an ache, a twinge of something that was so familiar, so beloved, but also painful. He looked up as she entered, and for the briefest moment, their eyes met, the silence between them filled with a thousand unspoken words.

His hair was a little longer now, his face more drawn, as if he, too, carried the weight of the past on his shoulders. He smiled gently when he saw her, a quiet, cautious smile, like he wasn't sure how to feel anymore.

"Hey," he greeted, his voice low, but there was warmth in it.

Soleil nodded, her heart beating faster than she expected. She sat down across from him, her hands nervously fidgeting in her lap. "Hey."